Ferdinand Victor Eugène Delacroix 
(26 April 1798 – 13 August 1863)
was a French Romantic artist
regarded from the outset of his career as the leader
of the French Romantic school.

He was born on 26 April 1798 at Charenton-Saint-Maurice in Île-de-France, near Paris.

As a painter and muralist, Delacroix's use of expressive brushstrokes and his study of the optical effects of colour profoundly shaped the work of the Impressionists, while his passion for the exotic inspired the artists of the Symbolist movement. 

A fine lithographer, Delacroix illustrated various books.

He produced paintings in support of the Greeks in their war for independence.

Greek Fighter on Horseback